"Mommy Tummy Full" - 26 Weeks

Sibling looming

Before anyone gets unsuspectingly slapped in the face by photos of a pregnant lady in a swimsuit when I post our vacation pics, I thought I had better officially out myself on the blog. For those who haven't heard through the grapevine, I'm pregnant. 26+ weeks, actually.

Now, my original plan for revealing this was to post after the Shamrock Shuffle. Imagine it: pictures of the whole family affair - Joe, his sister, his dad, me, and of course the ultrasound pics of the little one, all proudly beaming from the finish line. Me, having created my own running t-shirt with iron-on letters reading, "Running for 2. Please divide my time in half." (Clever, no? You like it?) Yes, I had even gone so far as to buy the letters at a craft store and was all set for a hot Saturday night ironing project. I was debating for the back of the shirt either, "Which way to the port-a-john?", or the following words of encouragement for my fellow runners, "C'mon, you can catch the pregnant lady!" (as if anyone in this event might actually be behind me). The whole thing was a bit boastful, I admit, but I am not a gifted runner and really had been working towards it (the race - not the shirt) for a while and was excited to achieve this accomplishment.

Alas, the entire plan was foiled by copious amounts of snow. So, instead of reading about how a then 5 (almost 6) months pregnant lady finished an 8k race, you can now hear about, oh, I don't know, how I have not been running since but have instead taken up the sport of eating my own body weight in ice cream treats and cookies. (Don't knock it -- that's a sport that gets harder each day...)

In all seriousness, though, Joe and I are thrilled. Baby #2 is due on August 13th, just four days after Georgia's 2nd birthday. I think I'm a little bit in denial about how soon that's going to be here and am prefering instead to focus on the recent and upcoming births of a number of my friends. Every now and then I freak a little about the idea of us becoming a family of 4 and get anticipatorily nostalgic about our dwindling days with Georgia alone. We are most definitely excited, just maybe a little bit more nervous about this baby than our last. I suppose that's counterintuitive, seeing as how we now have the confidence of being experienced parents, but it's just different this time around. Hopefully someone out there reading this can understand what I'm talking about.

To answer a few frequently asked questions:

Was this planned?
Yes, in the sense that we were ready to have another baby. But no, we did not get out our calendars and synchronize our watches in an attempt to potentially have the second baby on the first child's birthday. That part was pure accident.

Are you finding out the sex?
Nope, not until the kid gets here. Right now we both feel like it's a girl, I think because that's what we're used to - what we picture when we think of ourselves with a newborn. But then again on any given day we might be thinking boy. Who knows?

How are you feeling?
As big as a house. Large. Hefty. Jealous of women whose thighs and butts do not grow during pregnancy. Otherwise, I have absolutely no complaints. I know I am fortunate to be in this condition and lucky not to experience many of the unpleasant side effects of pregnancy.


How's the pregnancy/baby coming along?
Great. They tell us that everything's right on track so far. We switched practices, so I'm now seeing a midwife instead of an OB. I don't know if it's just a personality thing or what, because the course of care does not seem all that different thus far, but the experience has been SO much better for me (and Joe, by extension).

What does Georgia think of all of this?
She doesn't, really. She'll sometimes point at me and say "Mommy tummy full!" When asked what's in my belly, she's now more often than not correctly answering, "baby," rather than, "Mommy tummy full," but as with any firstborn child, she basically has no idea what's coming her way.